Absolutely right, no contest at the moment, though I'd say they'd still give the US a bloody nose.
But with each increasing day, they are ramping up their military at a rapid pace.

But the Pentagon shouldn't be worried about a direct comparison.
I reckon that should there be a conflict, it would take place in the form of a proxy war, much like how the Cold War was with the USSR.
Beijing has been forging some pretty strong economic and soon-to-be political alliances in Africa and other third-world countries and me thinks that this is for long-term strategic gain.
They've been trying to break through what's called the First Island Chain (basically a "wall" of US allies) through circumventing their influence and power to places like Pakistan and the aforementioned Africa.
The South China Sea issue seems to be directly related to this desire to break free the strategically suffocating First Island Chain.

Old news for sure but Xi seems to be a man who knows what he wants, and it seems that he has a certain vision for projecting influence and power (albeit "peacefully"). They say "peacefully" because they won't be the first one to fire the gun, but that doesn't mean they won't/can't be provocative.

Here's a nice little infographic of the situation. Details all the switches in 2018 so far.

What's not detailed is Panama, which switched from Taipei to Beijing last year (2017).

That one was the biggest diplomatic blow to Taipei in recent memory because up until that point, Panama had recognized the same [Republic of China] government from its founding in 1912 in Nanjing, all the way up to its current office in Taipei, and everything in between...that's well-over 100 years.

'An 811 referral informs the FBI of classified information that was potentially released to a foreign power or agent of a foreign power.

“This investigation is also designated a Sensitive Investigative Matter (SIM) due to a connection to a current public official, political appointee or candidate,” the memo stated.

Then-FBI Deputy Director Mark F. Giuliano sent a follow-up memo on July 21, 2015, to President Barack Obama’s deputy attorney general, Sally Yates, about two conversations he had with her about the criminal referral.

“On 13 July 2015 and 20 July 2015, I verbally advised you of a Section 811(c) referral from the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community received by the FBI on 06 July 2015. The referral addressed the mishandling of classified information on the personal e-mail account and electronic media of a former high-level us Government official,” according to the FBI memo, which was hand delivered to Yates.

'An 811 referral informs the FBI of classified information that was potentially released to a foreign power or agent of a foreign power.

“This investigation is also designated a Sensitive Investigative Matter (SIM) due to a connection to a current public official, political appointee or candidate,” the memo stated.

Then-FBI Deputy Director Mark F. Giuliano sent a follow-up memo on July 21, 2015, to President Barack Obama’s deputy attorney general, Sally Yates, about two conversations he had with her about the criminal referral.

“On 13 July 2015 and 20 July 2015, I verbally advised you of a Section 811(c) referral from the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community received by the FBI on 06 July 2015. The referral addressed the mishandling of classified information on the personal e-mail account and electronic media of a former high-level us Government official,” according to the FBI memo, which was hand delivered to Yates.

Pope Francis has recognised seven bishops appointed by China as part of a historic accord to improve ties between the Vatican and the communist country.

Taipei said it had been assured by Rome that the deal was "not of a political or diplomatic nature" and would not affect their 76-year-old diplomatic relationship.

Interesting and definitely a landmark deal for Beijing.
Remember that Beijing recently has been poaching Taipei's allies in recent years.
Speculation in Taiwan has been that the People's Republic of China and the Vatican are moving closer towards officially diplomatic relations.
The Vatican is the only remaining European sovereign state that recognizes the ROC government in Taipei.
Taipei has been given assurance by the Vatican that this is not the case, but we'll see.

If winning means the decimation of Taiwan as we know it, then I have no doubt in my mind that the PLA can achieve that.

However, logic dictates that a military & political "win" for Beijing would mean being able to invade Taiwan for the purposes of incorporating Taiwan into the PRC.
To that end, victory is a lot more difficult.
A full-scale combat at the current stage would still leave P.R. China with a broken nose and some knocked out teeth.

If victory means that Beijing and the PLA expects to march into Taipei and capture the Presidential Building after eliminating a few divisions of resistance and with little-to-no collateral damage (i.e., civilians, infrastructure, shared historical heritage such as the relics of the Palace Museum), then they are in for a tough one.